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Publicis Groupe tipped to acquire online ad firm Criteo

According to global reports, Criteo would be helping the Publicis Groupe up its digital aspects as it specialises in performance display advertising.

Criteo’s shares jumped as much as 21% amidst news of a the reported buy out. When contacted by Marketing, a Criteo spokesperson declined to comment saying it is “only a rumour at this point.” Publicis Groupe was also unable to comment at the time of writing.

Criteo went public in October 2013 and also launched its operations in Singapore late last year as the head office for the region. Criteo is currently looking to expand its presence in nine geographic markets, including Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. It also currently has offices in Australia, China, South Korea and Japan.

The move is part of Publicis’ expansion plans globally. Here in Asia, Publicis Singapore recently hired the entire team of iNeo as full-time employees. In Hong Kong it set up its full service digital agency ROAR as part of a global roll-out.

It also acquired a minority stake in home grown Singaporean agency Arcade. Headquartered in Singapore with offices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Jakarta, Arcade currently employs more than 100 individuals across the region.